The people (usually girls/young women) who come in, head for the nearest exercise bike, unfolds their fucking cosmopolitan magazine or whatever in front of them and proceeds to "cycle" for like, an hour, without turning on the bike, i.e having no resistance whatsoever.

Presumably when they get home afterwards they tell all their friends what good people they are for doing their weekly "workout".

On the subject of people wandering around the locker room naked - yep, it's not exactly good, especially when you've just got in to get changed and they proceed to talk right infront of you (like 3ft away) while you're tying your laces, really, I get the fact you're comfortable with everyone seeing your dick but no one is comfortable seeing it, put a towel on or something!

Or the guys with (and this is gonna sound really bad) bad feet - like athletes foot, verrucas, fungal nail infections etc walking around without flip-flops on, jeez guys I know you like to share, but atleast do the decent thing & wear something on your feet so we're not all likely to catch whatever you're peddling!

And one guy who really makes me laugh, the fella who comes into the gym & his choice of drink, a bottle of coke - I'm no nutritionist or broscience expert, but that's not gonna work is it!

Aha I rarely venture into commercial gyms as I have access to my own ghetto gym at home and a big one at work which are both far superior in space and quality and range of equipment... But...

1. People doing Deadlifts on the Smith Machine
2. People swanning around the gym not actually doing anything - I'm not talking pacing off the burn between sets.
3. People giving out really bad advice.. If you don't actually know, that's fine, just don't bluff that you do and insist on rounding your back on a Deadlift.
4. "Bi's and chest; forget the rest!" crowd.
5. People that come to the gym armed to the teeth with all the gear - wrist straps, lifting shoes, gold's gym vest, waist strap and then do curls with 20kg or Press 40kg.
6. P90X'ers.
7. People that drink energy drinks like Lucozade and Monster whilst working out.
8. People that consistently skip leg day. "Because I want big arms not big legs, derp."

I don't begrudge doing lifts in the mirror - it helps check form and maintain it. Although once you nail your form I find it more comfortable doing it away from a mirror as I find it a distraction rather than a benefit. Each to their own though.. Form is king and anything that encourages good form is good in my book.

Fatties pedalling really slowly on a bike while reading a Harry Potter book. If you are truly exercising you are using every single last bit of energy and dripping sweat, no time for reading.

Old blokes walking around the showers with everything out, just at least make a token effort to cover up.

People lifting way too little (eg curling 2kgs as a bloke) or not pushing themselves. You're wasting everyones time if you aren't making a serious effort. I have a sneaking suspicion that instructors start people off really low so they can slowly increase it to make people think they are getting stronger when they could have lifted that weight to start with.

Aha I rarely venture into commercial gyms as I have access to my own ghetto gym at home and a big one at work which are both far superior in space and quality and range of equipment... But...

1. People doing Deadlifts on the Smith Machine
2. People swanning around the gym not actually doing anything - I'm not talking pacing off the burn between sets.
3. People giving out really bad advice.. If you don't actually know, that's fine, just don't bluff that you do and insist on rounding your back on a Deadlift.
4. "Bi's and chest; forget the rest!" crowd.
5. People that come to the gym armed to the teeth with all the gear - wrist straps, lifting shoes, gold's gym vest, waist strap and then do curls with 20kg or Press 40kg.
6. P90X'ers.
7. People that drink energy drinks like Lucozade and Monster whilst working out.
8. People that consistently skip leg day. "Because I want big arms not big legs, derp."

I don't begrudge doing lifts in the mirror - it helps check form and maintain it. Although once you nail your form I find it more comfortable doing it away from a mirror as I find it a distraction rather than a benefit. Each to their own though.. Form is king and anything that encourages good form is good in my book.

Caffeine is a diuretic, it makes you have to pee and increases the amount of water in you stool. As a result, it is not as hydrating as water (though it does not dehydrate you). In addition, caffeine has a half-life of 5 hours (thus 5 hour energy) so it makes little sense to drink it while working out. You might as well drink it before.

---------- Post added 2012-11-12 at 05:00 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Jalek

Fatties pedalling really slowly on a bike while reading a Harry Potter book. If you are truly exercising you are using every single last bit of energy and dripping sweat, no time for reading.

Old blokes walking around the showers with everything out, just at least make a token effort to cover up.

People lifting way too little (eg curling 2kgs as a bloke) or not pushing themselves. You're wasting everyones time if you aren't making a serious effort. I have a sneaking suspicion that instructors start people off really low so they can slowly increase it to make people think they are getting stronger when they could have lifted that weight to start with.

I often go to the gym and pedal with the bike off while reading stuff for work. I mean, then I start my real workout. The pedaling keeps me awake so I can focus on the work. I know it isnt exercise (though it does burn SOME calories). How do you know what these people think? Maybe they are at the gym to get away from their gfs/wives and want to do some reading. BTW, I can read my kindle on the treadmill while running 6-7.5 mph. Once I get above that, though, my eyes cannot keep up with the movement. So it is possible to workout fairly hard and read.

Caffeine is a diuretic, it makes you have to pee and increases the amount of water in you stool. As a result, it is not as hydrating as water (though it does not dehydrate you). In addition, caffeine has a half-life of 5 hours (thus 5 hour energy) so it makes little sense to drink it while working out. You might as well drink it before.

---------- Post added 2012-11-12 at 05:00 PM ----------

I often go to the gym and pedal with the bike off while reading stuff for work. I mean, then I start my real workout. The pedaling keeps me awake so I can focus on the work. I know it isnt exercise (though it does burn SOME calories). How do you know what these people think? Maybe they are at the gym to get away from their gfs/wives and want to do some reading. BTW, I can read my kindle on the treadmill while running 6-7.5 mph. Once I get above that, though, my eyes cannot keep up with the movement. So it is possible to workout fairly hard and read.

I know that it is a diuretic but that's not really a disadvantage while lifting. :P

caffeine while working out can be very dangerous, as the increased heart rate can pump it through the body faster than it should, there was a cyclist a few years ago who died of a heart attack after a single can of red bull mid ride and that was down to the caffeine.

i don't see a problem with lucozade sport while at the gym, although recently i've heard a lot of talk that it only really makes a difference if you're at the top of your game, if you're just there to lose a bit of weight it probably won't actually do much other than burn a hole in your pocket - although i do drink the lucozade recovery drink after my work out.

OT - its been a while since i've been to a gym properly (just joined a new gym which opened yesterday so starting again tonight) but a pet peeve of mine when i was at LAfitness was the few massive guys who were probably on steriods with biceps bigger than my legs and legs smaller than my arms (which aren't very big at all =p) who stand there between their sets looking down at you because i'm not trying to rep at 90% of my ORM the whole time . . .

caffeine while working out can be very dangerous, as the increased heart rate can pump it through the body faster than it should, there was a cyclist a few years ago who died of a heart attack after a single can of red bull mid ride and that was down to the caffeine.

oh yes, i'm not saying it will or does happen to anyone, but it increases the danger =p

caffeine increases heart rate and increases the rate the liver releases sugar into the blood stream, as your heart rate is already up further increasing it means the caffeine will also be going round faster =p